Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to address the effect on levels of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department of its ICT purchases since the publication of the Greening Government ICT Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Since the publication of the Greening Government Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strategy, the Department has commissioned a Green ICT Feasibility Study by IBM to establish a Roadmap for the core Department and its Executive Agencies to not only meet the 2012 target for carbon neutrality for ICT in use across its estate, but also to include its out-sourced IT estate; primarily the appropriate portions of two large IBM data centres that support the provision of our IT services.
	For core DEFRA and those agencies taking all their IT services from IBM (some 4,500 staff), IBM currently uses a catalogue of assets that conform with the Quick Wins criteria set out in the Government's Green IT strategy for laptops, desktops and monitors. 96 per cent. of the current deployed IBM desktop and laptop assets are compliant with the Quick Wins criteria.
	10 months after the launch of the Greening Government ICT Strategy DEFRA has already delivered eight of the original 18 Chief Information Officer top tips set out in the HMG Greening ICT Strategy and submitted an initial draft Roadmap for addressing the remaining 10 tips, based on interim findings from the Feasibility Study. The top tips and Strategy can be viewed at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/cio/greening_ government_ict.aspx

Building Regulations

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of likely levels of compliance with the requirements of  (a) part L and  (b) part F of the Building Regulations following their revision.

Iain Wright: The Department is presently engaged in a joint project with the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes (EEPfH) looking at levels of compliance for new homes with the requirements of Part L (2006) of the Building Regulations. The first part of this study has been published on the EEPfH website at:
	http://www.eeph.org.uk/uploads/documents/partnership/EEPHCLG%20Part%20L1A%20Compliance%20Project%20-% 20Pilot%20Study%20Report%20v1.41.pdf
	The second part of the study will be published shortly.
	The Department is also currently evaluating Part F to help inform its proposed revision alongside Part L in 2010.

Building Regulations

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of building control officers with the function of overseeing implementation of the Building Regulations.

Iain Wright: All local authority building control officers in England and Wales are responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the building regulations in their respective authorities. All approved inspectors are responsible for the implementation of the building regulations in England and Wales, but approved inspectors have no enforcement responsibilities.
	A recent independent survey report commissioned by this Department from the Building Control Alliance (BCA) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) covering building control officers in England and Wales, found that in 2006-07 in the 201 local authorities that sent in a return there was a total of 2,609 employees and in the 22 approved inspector Building Control bodies that sent in a return there was a total of 1,812 employees. A full copy of the survey report can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningand building/surveybuildingcontrolrpt

Local Government Services: Fees and Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers local authorities have to charge for building control services in relation to small household extensions.

Iain Wright: Local authorities are authorised by 'The Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 1998' to fix their own charges in a scheme for carrying out their main building control functions with the aim of fully recovering their costs. The charges for building work related to small household extensions should be fixed with reference to the floor area of the proposed extension.
	The Department is currently carrying out a consultation exercise seeking views on a number of proposed changes to the charging regime. The consultation paper can be found on our website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planning andbuilding/lachargingregimeconsult